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The Bad Sleep Well

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100% Tomatometer 19 Reviews 91% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
In this loose adaptation of "Hamlet," illegitimate son Kôichi Nishi (Toshirô Mifune) climbs to a high position within a Japanese corporation and marries the crippled daughter (Kyôko Kagawa) of company vice president Iwabuchi (Masayuki Mori). At the reception, the wedding cake is a replica of their corporate headquarters, but an aspect of the design reminds the party of the hushed-up death of Nishi's father. It is then that Nishi unleashes his plan to avenge his father's death.
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Critics Reviews

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Ed Park Village Voice 06/19/2008
Opening with a bravura wedding sequence and ending with a sycophantic bow to a replaced telephone receiver, the film has its longueurs, but Mifune's buttoned-down avenger is a compelling portrait of righteous obsession foundering on unpredictable reality. Go to Full Review Tom Milne Time Out 01/26/2006
Kurosawa rather loaded the film on the side of social significance, while neglecting to capitalise on the noir aspects that underlie it. Even so, his use of the 'scope screen is masterly. Go to Full Review Nick Schager Slant Magazine 01/09/2006
3.5/4
A freestyle homage to Hamlet that does away with the costumed faithfulness of Kurosawa's other Shakespeare adaptations. Go to Full Review Yasser Medina Cinefilia 05/15/2021
7/10
Kurosawa constructs a Shakespearean revenge plot that illustrates, with much pathos, an argument about corporate corruption in postwar Japanese society, with a compelling and restrained performance by Toshiro Mifune. [Full review in Spanish] Go to Full Review James Berardinelli ReelViews 03/09/2021
3/4
Kurosawa's mastery of the story is evident. Go to Full Review Hoshi Soffen Shin Nichibei/New Japanese American News 10/22/2019
[The Bad Sleep Well] is a daring film revealing the existence of corruption and scandal within any high financing enterprise in any society. The message that haunts us is that everything will be hushed up again by the smooth operating higher-ups. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Virgo V @vision 4d The Bad Sleep Well (Warui Yatsu Hodo Yoku Nemuru; literally The worse they are, the better they sleep) is a 1960 Japanese neo-noir crime mystery film directed and co-written by Akira Kurosawa. It was also written by Hideo Oguni, Eijiro Hisaita, Ryuzo Kikushima and Shinobu Hashimoto. The film was based on Hamlet by William Shakespeare. It was produced by Kurosawa and Tomoyuki Tanaka. It stars Toshiro Mifune, Masayuki Mori, Kyoko Kagawa, Tatsuya Mihashi and Takashi Shimura. It was produced by Toho studios and Kurosawa Productions. It was distributed by Toho Company, Limited. Vision wrote: "the film stars Toshiro Mifune as a young man who, during a corrupt postwar Japanese era, tries to take down a company in order to expose the men responsible for his father's death. The film is an aggressive and chilling drama of modern-day Japan. I especially liked the first 30 minutes of the film and the build-up to the end. Four and a half fries! A Julienne; a classic!" See more Dani G May 3 For me it was one of the more ho-hum films of Kurosawa, with some things that just don't click, including acting and music... Plus the script it's not that clever See more Insomniac X Mar 3 Scathing portrait of corporate corruption in postwar Japan featuring a restrained leading performance by Toshiro Mifune. Unfortunately hampered by a convoluted plot, awkward pacing, and anticlimactic finale. See more Alec B 01/08/2024 Come for the reworking of "Hamlet" in 1960s corporate Japan, stay for the tension filled Noir atmosphere. See more dustin d 05/17/2022 The Bad Sleep Well is a surprising, real-world revenge movie. It starts out slow and confusing, but is worth the investment of time and attention. See more william d @acsdoug 09/14/2021 The movie starts out with a wonderfully strange wedding reception, then loses steam from there. It's not bad, just not good enough to recommend. See more Read all reviews
The Bad Sleep Well

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Cast & Crew

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Akira Kurosawa

Director

Toshiro Mifune

Koichi Nishi

Takeshi Kato

Itakura

Masayuki Mori

Company President Iwabuchi

Kyoko Kagawa

Yoshiko Nishi

Tatsuya Mihashi

Tatsuo Iwabuchi
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The Bad Sleep Well

The Bad Sleep Well (1960) The Bad Sleep Well (1960) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis In this loose adaptation of "Hamlet," illegitimate son Kôichi Nishi (Toshirô Mifune) climbs to a high position within a Japanese corporation and marries the crippled daughter (Kyôko Kagawa) of company vice president Iwabuchi (Masayuki Mori). At the reception, the wedding cake is a replica of their corporate headquarters, but an aspect of the design reminds the party of the hushed-up death of Nishi's father. It is then that Nishi unleashes his plan to avenge his father's death.
Director
Akira Kurosawa
Producer
Akira Kurosawa, Tomoyuki Tanaka
Screenwriter
Shinobu Hashimoto, Eijirô Hisaita, Ryûzô Kikushima, Akira Kurosawa, Hideo Oguni
Production Co
Kurosawa Production, Toho Company
Genre
Crime, Drama
Original Language
Japanese
Release Date (Theaters)
Jan 22, 1962, Wide
Release Date (DVD)
Jan 10, 2006
Runtime
2h 24m
Sound Mix
Mono
Aspect Ratio
Scope (2.35:1)